On December 5, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Ramon Alexandro Rovirosa Martinez (“Rovirosa”) was convicted by a federal jury in Houston, Texas for his role in a scheme to bribe government officials in Mexico’s energy sector. Rovirosa, a citizen of Mexico and a U.S. lawful permanent resident of Texas, was accused of conspiring with others to pay more than $150,000 in bribes to officials with Petróleos Mexicanos (“PEMEX”), Mexico’s state-owned oil company, and its wholly owned exploration and production subsidiary PEMEX Exploración y Producción (“PEP”). The jury found Rovirosa guilty of one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and two counts of violating the FCPA, while it failed to convict him of a fourth count of violating the FCPA. Rovirosa is currently scheduled to be sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the in the Southern District of Texas on March 23, 2026.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between approximately 2019 and 2021, Rovirosa worked with co-conspirators, including Mexican citizen and U.S. lawful permanent resident Mario Alberto Avila Lizarrago (“Avila”), to provide at least three PEMEX and PEP officials with bribes that were paid in the form of cash and luxury items such as designer handbags and high-end watches. The bribes were allegedly paid to secure at least $2.5 million worth of contracts with PEMEX and PEP and obtain other improper advantages, including the resolution of an audit, for unnamed companies associated with Rovirosa.
On August 11, 2025, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Rovirosa and Avila with FCPA violations for their roles in the scheme, shortly after Rovirosa was arrested in Woodland, Texas. According to the DOJ, Avila remains at large, and the case against him continues.
DOJ Press Release | Docket Minute Entry | Indictment